2b.Implicit-Association-Test (IAT)

Project Implicit - Mental Health Resources - includes implicit self-esteem and other mental health attitudes.
Images from the Implicit Self-Esteem test. This is not a tool for diagnosis.

LEFT LEG	...............................	.................................	RIGHT LEG
GOOD WORDS			BAD WORDS
OTHER PEOPLE			PERSONAL PRONOUNS
WE			ME
US			MY
THEM			I

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• Low explicit self-esteem and high implicit self-esteem was connected to "suicide ideation," depression, and "loneliness."
• Students with depression and self-hatred tend to have low explicit self-esteem: That is, they are consciously aware and sensitive to their insecurities (Creemers et al., 2011, p. 639).
• Implicit self-esteem is thought to develop earlier as an "unconscious...intuitive" feeling about oneself (Creemers et al., 2011, p. 639). Some argue that the implicit self-esteem may represent the 'ideal self,' while explicit represents the 'actual self' (De Houwer et al., 2007, as cited in Creemers et al., 2011, p. 640).
• Carl Rogers called this gap between one's real life and one's hopes and dreams incongruence.
• Implicit self-esteem was operationalized through a rating of letters of the alphabet: When subjects quickly rated letters from their own name high, they tended to have positive attitudes toward self (Creemers et al., 2011, p. 640). Other measures included an explicit self-esteem scale with statements like "I feel I do not have much to be proud of" and the Beck Depression Inventory, and the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Creemers et al., 2011, p. 641).
• Students who were classified as defensive – that is, they had a higher explicit self-esteem than implicit, were not linked to depression, loneliness, or suicidal ideation (p. 642).
• However, those with high implicit self-esteem and low explicit were “significantly associated” with depression (β =.51); suicide ideation (β = .41); and loneliness (β = .42). β is the standardized coefficient.
• Those with “damaged” self-esteem (high implicit, low explicit) might resort to suicide ideation as a coping mechanism (p. 644). Due to discrepancies between lifetime aspirations and current disappointments, the depressed and lonely student may feel unable to change their circumstances.

Reference
Creemers, D.H.M., Scholte, R.H.J., Engels, R.C.M.E., Pinstein, M.J., Wiers, R.W. (2011) Implicit and explicit self-esteem as concurrent predictors of suicide ideation, depressive symptoms, and loneliness. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43, 638-646.


Maddox, Keith. "Discovering Bias: Challenges and Opportunities for Organizational Diversity" National Council of Social Studies. John B. Hynes Memorial Convention Center, Boston, MA. 21 November 2014. Keynote Address, Psychology Community.

During a presentation with Keith Maddox, he demonstrated the way to perform the Implicit Association Test by slapping left leg, right leg.

Tufts University professor @maddblackprof